In February, Kazuyoshi Miura will turn 59 years old. Japan’s old master is not yet thinking about ending his career because of this.
“King Kazu” still doesn’t want to abdicate: Kazuyoshi Miura, the world’s oldest professional footballer, continues his decades-long playing career and moves on loan to the Japanese third-division club Fukushima United. His new club announced this.
Miura wants to turn 59 in February. “My passion for football hasn’t changed, no matter how old I get,” said the former Japanese international: “Let’s make history together!”
Miura has been under contract with first-division club Yokohama FC since 2005 and has been loaned out repeatedly in recent years, most recently to fourth-division club Atletico Suzuka. There he played seven games, and now he is entering his 41st season. The fan favorite probably wants to play until his 60th birthday.
Football Oldie Still Wants to “Give Everything”
He promised all players, coaches, fans, sponsors of Fukushima United, and the people in the region, “that I will give everything to make a contribution.” Previously, the 58-year-old had already played for clubs in Brazil, Japan, Italy, Croatia, Australia, and Portugal. Miura had moved from Japan to Brazil in 1982 and debuted four years later with FC Santos.
In 2020, he broke the age record of the Japanese J-League when he was in Yokohama’s starting eleven at 53 years, six months, and 28 days old. In 2017, Miura scored a goal in a professional match as the oldest goal scorer. For the national team, Miura played in 89 matches between 1990 and 2000, scoring 55 goals.